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It’s a question I thought I should get some feedback on before taking things any further.  It all came about when I recently received an email from The Order of Illuminati’s League of Billionaires (I presume they are the billionaires because I’m certainly not).  According to this email I am “now amongst the privileged few to belong to the one percent that controls the other ninety nine percent.”  Because of this my “destiny to wealth and greatness has today been fulfilled by The Great Owl.”  It goes on …

“You have been cleansed and picked amongst the struggling billions of humans and have today been set aside for greatness, fame and unending gratification.  You are amongst the chosen ones and will someday rule your country.  The Owl welcomes you to the Table of the Privileged.  Welcome to The Order Of Illuminati.”

The invitation was sent by Prof. Sylvie Letreux (Zone HQ Rec, The Order of Illuminati) and gives an email address in the USA.  As soon as I respond I will be initiated into the Secret Order and then I “will immediately be assigned a Sponsor. A Sponsor is an Older Member that will invest in your Business, Organization, and Projects in Millions to bring you up to sudden Fame and Limelight. Your Sponsor can also wish to give you a famous job in a Globally recognized Organization upto the Level of a Director. The Baseline is to bring you up to Fame and Peace.”  All I need to do is send my C.V. to the Illuminati email address.  So, should I join the Illuminati?  I’m thinking “no” for three reasons:

Firstly, the email is obviously a scam.  The spelling and grammar is terrible and most certainly not written by an educated or wealthy person.  I didn’t click on the email address because it probably contains a virus.  At the very least it smacks of a scam from somewhere in Eastern Europe or North Africa.  This may sound obvious but Australians lost $229 million to scams in 2015.

Secondly, the promises of “sudden” wealth, greatness, power, fame and unending gratification appeal to our base human nature that is at war with the spiritual nature we receive in Christ (Galatians 5:17).  While God is certainly not against these things (there are plenty of godly people who are famous, wealthy and powerful) they should not be things we seek in and of themselves.  As the Bible warns, “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced (Lit. crucified) themselves with many griefs.”   Wealth, greatness, power and fame are huge responsibilities and unless you have the character to undergird them, they can ruin you and others.

My third reason for not joining the Illuminati is that it simply doesn’t exist – at least not any more.  The Bavarian Illuminati was an Enlightenment-era secret society founded in 1776 to oppose superstition, the restriction of information, religious influence over public life and abuses of government power.  It took the Owl of Minerva (The Great Owl) as its symbol, according to Greek and Roman mythology, was a mark of knowledge and wisdom.  At its peak the Illuminati had about 650 members (although some in the group claimed it was more like 2,500).  The Bavarian Illuminati was plagued by internal power struggles, indiscretions and divisions and eventually declined in the late 1700s.

In the centuries since that time the existence of the Illuminati has been written and spoken about by a number of people, not least some Christian ministers and ministries.  But there is little or no evidence of it being a large, secret organisation that controls banks, businesses and governments all working behind the scenes to bring about a New World Order.  Christians who believe and teach this have a very unorthodox view of Scripture and Bible prophecy that is based more upon novels like The Left Behind and The Last Jihad series rather than the Bible.  While these may be a good read they do very little (other than entertain the reader and make the author very rich) to increase one’s knowledge and understanding of God’s Word.

Today there are some small groups that claim to be descended from the Bavarian Illuminati but they are anything but secret.  In fact they publicise this in order to gain more members.

The email from the “Illuminati” finished as follows:

“This is your Destiny. You had a strange dream recently. It was the Owl that visited you.”  Indeed I often have strange dreams but they usually follow a late dinner of a pizza with too much cheese!  As for what The Great Owl thinks?  I couldn’t give two hoots!

I’m currently teaching a series on The Lord’s Prayer at Bayside Church and one of the questions that arose early in the series concerned the masculinity of God: “Because God reveals Himself to us as Our Father does that mean that God is a man?”  I addressed this with our church last weekend because I understand that some people struggle with the fatherhood or maleness of God because they’ve had negative experiences with their own father (being unkind, absent or distant) or with men.  It’s then easy to bring these negative feelings into – and hinder – our relationship with God.  So how can we best navigate through these challenges?

Firstly it needs to be understood that the Bible uses something limited (words, languages, symbols, metaphors) to attempt to describe a divine person who is limitless.  Any description of God in Scripture automatically falls short of who God really is and what He is really like.

Secondly Scripture reveals that God is NOT a man but rather a Spirit (Numbers 23:19a; John 4:24) but that does not mean that God is genderless.  Going back to the Creation story in Genesis reveals the truth of this, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have … So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26-27 NKJV).  A simple reading of these verses infers that God is both male AND female and basically divided those two distinctions into men and women when they were created.  That means the coming together of a man and a woman in marriage actually completes the nature of God in a relationship like no other bond can do.  That’s why the husband and wife become “one flesh”.

In the Bible God uses both masculine and feminine terms and attributes when describing “His” nature.  God seems quite comfortable equating Himself to a great warrior and a husband, but also as a child bearer (1 John 3:9), a seamstress, as well as cooking and cleaning a house.  God is pictured as the female figure of Wisdom: creating, ordering, and saving the world (Proverbs 1:20-21).  Jesus is even called “the Wisdom of God” in the New Testament and the Holy Spirit is often presented in female metaphors including the birthing process, consoling, comforting, and travailing in childbirth, emotional warmth and inspiration.  The Syriac church actually used the feminine pronoun for the Holy Spirit until 400 AD.

Both pictures of God are put together in two adjacent verses in Isaiah 42, “The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero; he will come out like a warrior, full of fury.  He will shout his battle cry and crush all his enemies.   He will say, “I have long been silent; yes, I have restrained myself. But now, like a woman in labor, I will cry and groan and pant” (Vs. 13-14 NLT).

Jesus emphasizes the feminine when He laments over Jerusalem, “How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matt. 23:37b NKJV).

One of the most frequently used names for God in the Hebrew Scriptures, El-Shaddai, encompasses both male and female genders.  El means God and “Shaddai” (a name borrowed from one of the pagan goddesses of the Canaanites) is usually translated (I believe wrongly) as “Almighty”.  It is more likely that “Shaddai” was an attribute of a Semitic goddess linking the name to the Hebrew word for breast.  Thus El-Shaddai could just as easily be translated “the god of the breast” (or “the womb”).  This was God’s revelation to Abram who would become “Father of many nations” and Sarai who would become “Princess of a multitude”.  God’s revelation in this name is of all sufficiency to nurture the nation of Israel to fruitfulness like a nursing mother would do for her children.  God used this name for 500 years from Abraham to Moses at which time He started using the Name YHWH (Yahweh, Jehovah) a prophetic name promising who God will be from that time on, “I am He who will be …”

But the first thing God said by way of self-revelation to Moses was that He is “compassionate” a word based on the Hebrew root for “womb”.  God’s love and compassion for us is like that which a mother has for her child.  God has a mother’s kind of love for “His” own.  Throughout the Bible, God progressively reveals more and more of His nature and character until the ultimate revelation of the Name that Jesus taught us to hallow, “Our Father”.

Author Aaron Armstrong says, “God is quite comfortable referring to Himself using or inspiring the use of both feminine and masculine characteristics, even if it makes some of us uncomfortable.” (Article Ref: Is there anything wrong with calling God she?).

It’s true that God is presented in the Bible as “He,” but this word does not demand precisely the same thing it does when used of human beings.  Some people have suggested we ought to change the biblical references to God as Father from masculine to a designation that is non-gender specific like parent or to refer to God as He and She.  While I understand where they are coming from I disagree.  To play around with different pronouns can become cumbersome semantics.  God has chosen to reveal Himself in the Bible with masculine pronouns, but uses both male and female metaphors to enrich our understanding of His nature.  All of these words, names and descriptions are helpful, but ultimately inadequate in aiding us to fully understand an eternal, limitless, all-powerful being.  When it comes to God, we need to learn to live with mystery, awe and wonder and not get caught up in word games.

One of the things I love about the Bible is its honesty.  It doesn’t shy away from people’s faults and failures – or successes.  It reports the good, the bad and the ugly.  I can imagine many of the Bible’s characters, if they were alive today, cringing at what God allowed to be written about them.  I mean we only want people to know the good stuff right?  There’s Noah saying, “Really God, did we have to mention the drunk and naked in the tent incident?”  Abraham would be concerned about reports of him lying – twice!  David would be mortified over the adultery with Bathsheba.  And I could go on about Moses the murderer, Paul the persecutor and Thomas the cynic but I’m sure you get the picture.

In its honesty, the Bible never shies away from the conflicts that happen between people – even good people, Christian people.  In fact, most of the New Testament letters were written to help people work through conflict situations in local churches.   One of the most helpful stories is the reported conflict between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:36-41) because it helps us address the question: “Who’s right, who’s wrong?”  Whenever there’s a conflict the temptation is for people to take sides (and sometimes one person is totally in the right and the other completely wrong).  But more often than not we need to sift through details, personalities, points of view, previous experiences and a host of other variables in order to get clarity on the truth.

These two great men – Paul and Barnabas – had been on a missionary trip together, teaching the Gospel and starting local churches.  They’d taken Barnabas’ cousin Mark with them but things had got too tough for the young man and “he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work” (Acts 15:38).

Sometime later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing” (Acts 15:36).  Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them, but Paul didn’t think it wise to take him, because of his fickleness on the previous trip.  The result?  “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches” (Acts 15:39-41).

On the surface, it looks like the Bible sides with Paul, and Barnabas seems to fade from the picture.  But is that the case?  Who’s right, who’s wrong?  Paul was right in that Mark was young and inexperienced and had left them in the lurch on the first trip.  I understand his reticence to take him again so soon.  But Paul was also wrong because – as we will see – he failed to recognise the potential in this young man.  Barnabas was right because he did see the potential in Mark, but he was also wrong in that he most likely allowed the family relationship to cloud his judgment.  Remember that “Barnabas” is just a nickname.  His real name was Joseph but the apostles called him Barnabas, which means “Son of Encouragement.”  That’s the sort of guy he was.  You’d love to be around him because he always looked for the good in others – their potential rather than their problems.

The Bible eventually shows that both men were wrong and both were right.  God blessed Paul and Silas’ work of strengthening and planting local churches, while He also blessed the work of Barnabas who is recognised in Scripture as an apostle, a good man, a prophet and teacher and one through whom God worked miracles.  He faced persecution and risked his life for Jesus.  He was the one who saw Paul’s potential and sought him out to help at the Antioch Church.  And his ability to spot potential paid off when it came to Mark.

Later in the New Testament, we find out that Mark eventually became part of Paul’s apostolic team whom he sent to help the Colossian church writing to them to “welcome him.”  Sometime later Mark helped the apostle Peter who refers to Mark as “my son.”  It’s likely that Mark was with Peter working as a scribe for the Gospel that bears his name.  Mark’s Gospel is widely believed to be Peter’s recollection of the events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

At the end of Paul’s life, he wrote to Timothy, “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”  Why was he helpful? Because Barnabas saw and developed Mark’s potential.  So who’s right, who’s wrong?  The answer is simple – both of them were.  The wise person will learn this lesson.

Part of the Christmas story tells us the reason why Jesus came: “you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

To us this seems like a pretty awesome message and yet, to the original hearers, it would have been like rubbing salt into their wounds.

Consider the nature of the society and times into which Jesus was born.  The nation of Israel had been conquered and oppressed by a succession of foreign powers for almost 600 years, starting with the Babylonian Empire in 586 BC.  This was followed by the Persians in 536 BC; the Greeks, led by Alexander the Great, in 332 BC; and the Romans in 63 BC. Israel continued to be dominated and oppressed by Rome until 313 AD.  It was into this tyranny that Jesus was born.

Kenneth Bailey in his book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, states, “At the time of Jesus much of the land was owned by foreigners who controlled huge estates. Local farmers were obliged to rent land and were often treated unfairly” (P. 48).

Jesus was born into an economically and politically oppressed people who were looking for a Saviour to deliver them and to rejoice in the pain and destruction of their tormentors.  The last thing you want when you’re oppressed is for someone to point out “your” sins, faults and failures.  Sin is what “those” people are doing to “us”. “Our” sins are not worth noting compared to “their” sins against us.  Salvation is what “we”need – to be set free from “them”.

But Jesus didn’t speak about the oppressors or the political life of Israel and Rome, and so His message and ministry disappointed many because He hadn’t come to set people free from Roman oppression, He came to set them free from their own sins. 

Jesus faced opposition and was ultimately crucified because He challenged the sins of His own people, rather than the sins of the oppressors.  On one occasion some people came to Jesus to inform Him of the Galileans Pontius Pilate had slaughtered while they were worshipping God and making sacrifices to Him (Luke 13:1-3).  No doubt the people were expecting Jesus’ response to be one of outrage, but once again His message was disappointing: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  In other words, don’t worry about the sins of others, what about your sins?  Instead of outrage, Jesus gave this message: “You are all sinners; you all need to repent and receive God’s forgiveness and grace. You need salvation from your own sins and I am here to provide it for you.”  That is the Christmas story and that is why Jesus was born!

No doubt Jesus’ message is still disappointing to some people today.  Awful things still happen in the world and we want to be outraged and blame others for all the pain and suffering.  Some people even use this as an excuse to blame God, get angry with Him or choose not to believe at all.  After all, “If there is a loving God why is there so much suffering in the world?”  You might find Jesus’ message to be as disappointing as those in first century Israel, but the message hasn’t changed in 2,000 years.  God asks us to look within and deal with the sin in our own life.  Imagine if everyone did that.  We’d have heaven on earth and experience another aspect of the Christmas story, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Unfortunately, the belief in and celebration of Santa has been a somewhat divisive issue over the years in the church. 

While I totally respect people’s right to make their own choice on this for their family, it should, in my opinion, never be something we argue about. And certainly not contradict other people’s choices; like the Christian grandparents who told their grandchildren that Santa wasn’t real, infuriating the children’s parents (who were not Christians) and driving them further away from Jesus. 

It seems the “bah humbug” spirit is still alive and well amongst spiritual scrooges!

Reasons for Santa

Christie and I made a decision many years ago that Santa would be part of our Christmas celebrations.  We made this decision for two reasons:

Firstly, Santa IS a real person – or at least WAS.  Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas, born in 270AD to a very wealthy family.  He was a committed Christian who eventually became Bishop of Myra – part of modern-day Turkey.  Due to the many miracles attributed to his ministry, he was also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker!  He had a reputation for secret gift-giving; in fact, he eventually gave most of his family fortune away to those in need and thus became the model of generosity for the modern-day Santa Claus. 

Over the centuries fact and fiction have woven together (as often happens with historical figures) to create the picture of Santa Claus we have today.  While it’s likely that, as a Second Century Middle Eastern Christian Bishop, Saint Nicholas would have had a beard and worn a red cassock, today’s Santa has morphed from a poem written by Clement Clark Moore in 1822 called “A Visit from St. Nicholas” which we still love today:

“Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse …”

In the poem, Moore describes St. Nicholas as arriving on housetops in a miniature sleigh drawn by eight tiny reindeer.  The sleigh is full of toys that St. Nick brings down the chimney in a bundle on his back.  He goes on to describe the Santa we know and love – dressed in fur, sporting a beard as white as the snow, a broad face and a little round belly, “That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf …” Once his work of filling stockings with gifts was completed he rose up the chimney and went on his merry way with the exclamation of “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.”

Since this delightful poem was published, various illustrators have drawn St. Nicholas according to Moore’s description.  The most famous of these was used in a 1931 Coca-Cola commercial to encourage Americans to drink it in the winter months (when it was less popular).  The advertising campaign was a great success, but Coca-Cola did not invent the modern-day Santa.

The second reason we include Santa in our Christmas celebrations is that children LOVE fantasy! 

Ever watched a child’s eyes light up as you tell them a wonderful story, or read a stunning poem like the one I’ve mentioned above? 

Fantasy and role-play are vital to a child’s healthy development.  It allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity and physical, intellectual and emotional strength. It is vital to healthy brain development as well as helping them engage and interact in the world around them. It allows children to create and explore a world they can master and conquer their fears.

Faith as a Catalyst for Creativity

The Christian faith has been the catalyst for so much creativity over the centuries including great inventions and discoveries, music, painting and writing.  Incredible creativity that has come out the God-given imaginations of men and women created in the image of God.

Fantasy has been used over the years as a powerful tool to communicate Christian truth.  Authors like JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis expressed their Christian faith through fantasy and have given us works like The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia that millions around the world are still enjoying and learning from today.

The Bible itself uses lots of imagery in an attempt to communicate spiritual truth to human beings.

Since the beginning of time, God has chosen to speak to people in dreams and visions, pictures, poems, songs, stories and imagery.  

Jesus taught in parables.  God could have given us a two-page document: things to do and things not do but rather, He chose to weave truth into creative writing so that our imaginations would be stirred.

For these two reasons, we have embraced Santa into our Christmas celebrations. 

While our two older children are now well aware of the mythical nature of the modern Santa, our eight-year-old is so excited by this tradition. She leaves Santa and the reindeer snacks and drinks on Christmas Eve.  Santa leaves her a note and gifts – and makes a terrible mess in the process!  She loves it – it’s a wonderful part of Christmas.

Of course, our children also understand that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birthday.  They love the Lord and are growing in their faith.  Jesus is central to Christmas but that doesn’t mean that Santa has to be excluded.

Over the years I’ve heard many discussions about law and grace.  Those who focus on God’s law can invariably be heard expressing concerns about extreme grace (although I believe that grace, by its very nature, is extreme).  Others focus on grace to the exclusion of law and accuse those that emphasise the importance of the law of being legalistic.  So where should we land between what appears to be two polar opposites?

The answer is well illustrated in the life of Joseph, Mary’s husband and Jesus’ earthly father.  When he found out that Mary, the woman he was betrothed to be married to, was pregnant the Bible records, “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19 NIV).

At this time Joseph didn’t know about the miraculous conception (that information came later from an angel in a dream) and so, faced by his wife-to-be’s unfaithfulness and resulting pregnancy, how did Joseph act?  “Joseph … was faithful to the law.”  These words mean that Joseph was a person who obeyed God’s law and applied its rules fairly and without favouritism.  So, what did the law proscribe for Joseph to do?  The answer is found in Deuteronomy 22:23:

“If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death.”

According to the law Joseph was within his rights to have Mary stoned to death (as well as the man she committed adultery with).  But “Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet …” What two marvellous words they are, “and yet”.  If there was no “and yet” Mary could have been stoned to death thus killing the baby Jesus inside her womb – no messiah, no salvation!  Or Mary could have been ridiculed with a public divorce that would mean she’d be an unmarried mother and unlikely to ever be married.  When her parents died she’d have no means of support and it’s likely that her and Jesus’ lives would be cut short – no messiah, no salvation!

Joseph was faithful to the law and yet he chose to express grace – and so should we.

We see this sort of justice beautifully illustrated by the prophet Isaiah in Scripture on which Joseph had no doubt meditated many times.  In Isaiah 42:1-4 the prophet foresees the coming Messiah and what He would be like: a man filled with God’s Spirit and bringing justice to the nations.  But this justice would not be about retribution, punishment, judgment or the application of the law.  Isaiah used a metaphor to describe the justice Messiah would bring: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.”  Justice in this context means “Compassion for the weak and exhausted.”  Reeds were used to make pens but damaged reeds were broken and thrown on the fire.  Smouldering wicks would fall into a bowl of water on the floor under the lamp and be extinguished.  But the servant of God spoken of in Isaiah 42 (and fulfilled in Jesus, Matt. 12:18-21) would not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smouldering wick.  He would be compassionate to the weak and exhausted, to the bruised and burnt out.

This is the sort of father Jesus grew up with and no doubt observed for many years as he operated in grace rather than the legalistic application of the law.  And this is the sort of man Jesus became, as we see all through the Gospels, as He met battered and bruised people with love, tenderness, compassion and grace.  Like father, like son – and we’re called to be like Jesus!

Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them.  Paul the apostle taught, “Love is the fulfillment of the Law” because, “Love does no wrong to a neighbour” (Romans 13:10 NIV).  The most-often quoted verse in the New Testament from the Law is, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

In your dealings with people you will sometimes feel tempted to quote or execute the Law but remember the character of Joseph – and Jesus – who were faithful to the Law, and yet …

Every time there’s a natural disaster we’ll always find at least one preacher who’ll attribute it to a minority group or a company of sinners who are considered to be worse than others.  This was the case with the Victorian Bush fires in 2009, the Haiti earthquake, Hurricane Katrina and most recently, the earthquake in New Zealand, where the pastor in question was giving a “biblical perspective” as he referred to natural disasters being linked to the “degradation of sexual sin” and “iniquities of mankind destroying our earth.”  To defend his view he quoted from the Book of Leviticus.

I am so fed up with this sort of pronouncement as it repels people from the Christian faith and doesn’t reflect a Christian attitude.  During and after natural disasters people lose their lives and loved ones, people are injured, property damaged and lives are ruined.  The message people need to hear from the church at times like this is one of compassion and empathy, not just in words but also in actions – the church rolling up its sleeves to help.

And so I posted this status on my Facebook page: “Dear Christian Preachers. Unless you are personally going to live by the entire Levitical Law, please stop cherry-picking odd verses from that book and using them to condemn certain minority groups.”  It prompted a lot of discussion as well as this blog.

The favourite verse for some Christians to quote is Leviticus 18:22 – one of the verses used to condemn gay people.  I’ve never heard a sermon on Leviticus 18:19 though, “Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.”  Maybe that one’s a bit too close to home for heterosexual preachers.  Although, based on this verse, should I not be standing at the door of Bayside Church each weekend making sure we’re not letting any unclean couples in?  Church has changed, chuck them out. 🙂

The same goes for women who have just given birth to a baby. According to Leviticus they are unclean and not allowed to gather with God’s people.  Thank God for livestream!  If it’s a boy the penalty is one week followed by 33 days.  In the case of a girl it’s two weeks plus 66 days.  Obviously boys are twice as good as girls right?  Mixing fabrics in clothes is wrong, so are tattoos (although we see a lot of those on famous preachers and worship leaders), cutting your hair at the sides and trimming beards – both wrong!

The New Zealand pastor, Brian Tamaki from Destiny Church, was preaching on Sunday 13 November, the day before the latest earthquake.  He quoted from Leviticus 18 that lists all sorts of sexual sins.  God then says to His people, “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants…for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you” (Lev 18:24-28). Pastor Tamaki linked these verses to earthquakes and other natural disasters surmising that the verb “to vomit” must refer to earthquakes.

Now it needs to be said that prophesying an earthquake in New Zealand is on par with saying the sun will rise this morning and set tonight.  New Zealand was formed by volcanoes (the last eruption was about 600 years ago) and is built right on the edge of two tectonic plates.  Earthquakes are caused when underground rock breaks away from the edge of a tectonic plate causing the plate to move.  They are not caused by people’s sin.

I refer you to a blog I posted a few months ago called, Should the Bible be taken literally?. In this blog I suggest, “When you’re reading and studying the Bible one of the first things you need to ask yourself is, what type of literature am I reading?”  So what type of literature is being used in the verses quoted above from Leviticus 18?  It’s a metaphor, that is, a figure of speech that is not to be taken literally.  The earth doesn’t vomit!  This metaphor isn’t talking about earthquakes and other natural disasters; it’s talking about what will happen to the people if they don’t live holy lives.  Living in the land was a privilege that carried certain responsibilities.  If they didn’t live up to the responsibilities they would lose the privilege.

So how can Leviticus best be understood?  The name means, “relating to the Levites” who had religious and political responsibilities amongst the people of Israel.  The book can be divided into two parts: The way to the Holy One (1-10) and the way of holiness (11-27).  The first part outlines sacrifices and offerings that were to be used in approaching God.  This was revolutionary 3,500 years ago as it was the first time a deity had clearly communicated to people (and had it written down) how He was to be approached and worshipped.  Until then the nations used a lot of guesswork to deduce what a deity did and did not want.  This led to a lot of superstition and bizarre practices like temple prostitution and child sacrifice that are both condemned in Leviticus, and rightly so.

The second part deals with sanitation (purity of body) – an essential for thousands of people living in a desert region – and sanctification (purity of soul).  Again, this was radical teaching in its day.  Leviticus gives detail on cleanliness, health, diet, social interaction, worship and conversation.  God also recognised that people would fail in these areas on a regular basis and so Leviticus concludes with three provisions of grace including the Year of Jubilee, the year that Jesus came to proclaim for all people of all time (Leviticus 25:10; Luke 4:19).

Much of Leviticus does not apply to people today.  For example, Jesus declared all foods to be clean essentially freeing people from all the Levitical food rules (Mark 7:19).  Jesus corrects other statements from Leviticus in His Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, but I tell you …”  (Matt 5:21; 27; 33; 38, 43).  The New Testament quotes Leviticus a number of times and two statements are repeatedly quoted: “You shall be holy, for I am holy” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Sadly Leviticus seems to be most-often used today in an unloving way towards our neighbour.

The most important thing we can learn from Leviticus is that the book points towards the Messiah.  The New Testament teaches that all the types and symbols, the sacrificial system and priestly mediation, are all fulfilled in Jesus (read Hebrews chapter 8).  Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law He came to fulfill it.  This He did through His life, death and resurrection and declaring a New Covenant with all people not just one nation: “By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear” (Hebrews 8:13).  The Old Covenant, with all its sacrifice and ritual, disappeared in 70AD with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

And so let’s stop cherry-picking from Leviticus to bring guilt and condemnation on others.  Let’s embrace its themes of holy living and loving, and enjoy and share the wonderful salvation Jesus makes available to all.

The winter and spring we’ve just had in Melbourne and Victoria has been wetter than usual, and the recent floods and heavy rain have provided the perfect breeding grounds for pests, especially mosquitos.  As a result, public health authorities have predicted a bumper season for mozzies and concerns for the risk of Victorians contracting mosquito-borne diseases.  So this week I stocked up on citronella candles and invested in a solar-powered mozzie zapper so we can enjoy being outside without being bitten.

The real problem though is the one or two mozzies that find their way into your bedroom at night.  I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of starting to fall asleep only to be roused back to consciousness by the infuriating buzzing of a mosquito.  It’s bizarre how such a small creature can be so annoying and keep you awake.  And if the buzzing stops it’s probably because the bug is biting you!

I’ve had many experiences like this over the years and have eventually turned the light on and reached for the bug spray.  At this point the mosquito is nowhere to be found.  It’s like they know you’re trying to destroy them and take cover somewhere in the room.  Switch the light off; get back into bed and a few minutes later, buzzzzzzzzzzz.  Agh*#****#

In my church and pastoral experience over the years I’ve found a lot in common between mozzies and gossips.  Just a couple of them can multiply quickly (one female mosquito can lay anywhere between 100 to 300 eggs at one time, and in her lifetime she can lay between 1,000 and 3,000 eggs).

Just one or two gossips can bite many people over and over again (a female mosquito will continue to bite and draw blood until her abdomen is full. If she is interrupted before she is full, she will fly to the next person. After feeding, the mosquito rests for two or three days before laying her eggs, then is ready to bite again).  The gossip’s words cause people to itch and scratch (2 Timothy 4:3), bite and devour (Galatians 5:15).

Quotes in brackets are from this link http://www.mosquitoworld.net/mosquito-faqs/

One or two gossips can keep you awake all night.  I can’t count the nights of sleep I’ve missed over the years because of people saying unkind and untrue things and spreading criticism and dissension amongst God’s people.

When you turn the light on the gossips are nowhere to be found or, when confronted, they deny they’ve said anything wrong.  I’ve had gossipy people lie straight to my face about gossiping even though there are many witnesses to what they’ve said.  They look at me as if butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths: “oh no pastor Rob, I’d never say something like that.”  And yet when the light and attention goes off them they go straight back to their irritating buzzing again.

Gossip causes more damage in churches, families and workplaces, and amongst friends, than any other sin.  And yes it is sinful.  The Bible has much to say about gossip and those who spread it.  A simple Google search will bring up dozens of Bible verses (especially in Proverbs) that are very much worth meditating on especially if you find yourself tempted to gossip.

To protect yourself from mozzie bites this summer make sure you cover up with loose-fitting clothing; use insect repellants, limit outdoor activity if lots of mosquitoes are about, and make sure there is no water around where mosquitoes can breed.

The same things work well to protect from gossips.  Cover yourself with the Christian qualities outlined by the apostle Paul in Colossians 3:12b-14 “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Put up with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love …” (NIV).

The best gossip repellant is to counter their negative words by saying something like: “what you’re telling me is something I don’t need to hear” or “the Bible says that love always believes the best of another person.  I choose to believe the best and will not listen to the gossip you are trying to spread.”  These words also work wonders in getting rid of breeding grounds for gossip.

Even though the gossips will try and hide when you turn the light on don’t let them get away with it.  Call it for what it is until they either get offended, leave or repent.  It takes two people to spread gossip, choose not to be one of them!

Last week, on the morning of the US Elections, I put the following status on my Facebook page: “Well, after almost two years of Primaries and the race for the White House, Election Day has finally arrived for the US. There’s a part of me that would like to see what would happen if Trump got in. Maybe he is the bulldozer America needs right now to get the country back on track. Or maybe he’d be a total disaster that would see a decrease in the scary extreme right wing groups (with all their conspiracy theories) in the US. If he doesn’t get in, these groups will increase and the next candidate could make Donald Trump look like Prince Charming.”

As we know, Donald Trump is now President Elect and will be sworn into office as President of the United States at midday on Friday January 20, 2017. So the “part of me that would like to see what would happen if Trump got in” won’t have to wait long to find out. In the meantime there are protests (and some riots) happening in the US by people who don’t want to find out. I don’t doubt that Trump supporters would be protesting (rioting) if Hillary Clinton won. After all, the polls were rigged and Trump was possibly going to challenge the result if he lost.

There is no doubt that the USA has major problems. The country is in massive debt and it’s the divided, not the united, States when it comes to race – reaping what it’s sown from years of African slavery and oppression. Trump made some pretty concerning statements in the lead up to the election, but it is possible that he was just playing a part in order to gain votes. Even in the last week he seems to have toned down some of his threats. He’ll need to continue along this line to bring his policies more in line with the GOP and to get his policies through Congress.

According to the American Action Forum, if Trump fully enforced current immigration law, as he has suggested, it would cost the federal government from $400 billion to $600 billion, shrink the labour force by 11 million workers, reduce the real GDP by $1.6 trillion and take 20 years to complete (Trump has said he could do it in 18 months). It will ultimately harm the US economy, and of course, the economies of many other countries as well.

His talk on trade, health care, defense and taxation will also need to be carefully examined as to their ultimate effect on the nation and the world.

But maybe he is the right man for the job at this time. He’s promised to “drain the swamp” in Washington of the politicians and lobbyists who he railed against throughout the race. Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway said, “The gravy train is about to have its wheels blown off and its engine completely ripped from its bearings because there is just no reason to keep this consultant-lobbyist axis at such a level where people feel like their interests are not being served … Part of the rigged, corrupt system that he was giving voice to so often was the one we heard from voters.” Only time will tell if Trump actually does what he’s promised to do to “Make America Great Again” or maybe he’ll be a total disaster (ref: Conway Trump Swamp).

Of course making America great means different things to different people – and it should certainly mean something different to Christian people. Jesus defined greatness as serving others rather than reflecting the world’s self-interest and ladder climbing (Matthew 20:20-28). One of the saddest things I’ve observed during this election campaign is so much of the US Evangelical & Pentecostal church publicly taking sides with Donald Trump. Three things need to be clarified here:

Firstly, the church must be neutral when it comes to political parties. The church must not align itself with a particular party because the church’s FIRST priority is being obedient to Jesus’ LAST words (Matthew 28:18-20). For pastors to align their churches with one party over another means that the effectiveness of that pastor and church will be decreased in reaching people of other political persuasions. Read the book Unchristian by David Kinnaman for some excellent research on why and how politically aligned churches hinder the Gospel.

Secondly, the church must be consistent. For example, it’s one thing to talk about the President of the United States as God’s appointment because “there is no authority except that which God has established.” But why then did so many US church leaders endorse the war against Iraq? If “there is no authority except that which God has established” did that not include Saddam Hussein? What of the resulting mess from the unilateral offensive against Iraq? Why is there such hypocrisy in the US intervening in some situations and yet not in others (Rwanda, Bosnia, Ukraine and Sudan for example). Where is the church’s outcry against this hypocrisy and lack of justice?

Thirdly, the church must be involved in, and speak out about, issues of ethics and justice – the most important one being the relief of poverty (see Galatians 2:9-10). The church must shine it’s light bright so that people “may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Instead America sees the church in bed with the GOP and Donald Trump and simply can’t reconcile the Christian faith with the racism, misogyny, torture, violence, insults, hypocrisy and lewdness they hear from him.

This is where the contradictions come in. There are some church leaders in the US who have suggested that Donald Trump is like the Persian King Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1-4). God anointed a pagan king to encourage the Jewish people to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple, also helping to finance the venture. But God did not call King Cyrus to rule over Israel, which is what these church leaders are “prophesying” about Donald Trump. And in any case, these same leaders also say that Trump is now a born again Christian (so is he a pagan king like Cyrus or a believer in Jesus?). I am not judging Donald Trump or his faith but you can’t have it both ways.

There has been so much Scripture twisting by church leaders who distort the Word of God for their own political agenda (2 Cor. 4:2). Consider the several self-styled “prophets” who suggested that, because it’s the 70th Year of Jubilee (which it isn’t) – the year the “trump” will sound and the year Donald Trump turns 70 – that it stands to reason that Trump is God’s choice to lead America. Others have suggested that Trump is God’s choice because he will hold back the Antichrist and the New World Order. This sort of doctrine, espoused by many in the evangelical and Pentecostal church world, is based on a relatively new understanding of end time events that was made popular by John Nelson Darby, founder of the Exclusive Brethren Cult. The fact is the Antichrist came and went in the first century AD and right now we’re not waiting for the devil’s kingdom – or the great tribulation – we’re waiting for the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ.

I hope and pray that Donald Trump does a good job for the next four or eight years as President of the United States. Whether you like him or not, we all have a God-given duty to pray for him and “all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Tim. 2:2; Romans 13:1-7). I also pray that my colleagues in the American church get a revelation of their priority of leading their churches to reach out with good works and good news to a world that God loves and for whom Jesus died, in order to build a kingdom that is not of this world!

A couple of weeks ago I posted a blog titled Jesus on Divorce. My comments were based on Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 19 in response to questions about divorce and remarriage.

The disciples’ reaction to Jesus’ teaching on divorce was to emphasise singleness as a better option than marriage – and Jesus didn’t disagree, and neither did the apostle Paul – both single men (Cf. 1 Corinthians 7:1-2)

Then in Matthew 19:11-12 (NIV), Jesus makes a very interesting comment: “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

Three types of Eunuchs

I believe this is the only time Jesus taught on sexual diversity and his comments are still as relevant today as they ever were.

Those who “choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven,” refers to those who, by their own free choice, and for the glory of God’s Kingdom, abstain from marrying or any intimate relationship. They voluntarily remain single and celibate and commit their lives to serving God and His people. We need to honour people such people rather than treat them like second-class Christians because they’re unmarried.

“Eunuchs who were born that way, and…eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others” refers to those who are unable to function sexually within a heterosexual marriage.

People like that may choose not to marry at all or, if they’re already married, there needs to be honest and open communication between husband and wife about making a choice to keep the marriage together because of the many other positive things that their relationship can bring.

Examples of people Jesus may have been referring to could be those with a certain disability, impotence, people who have same-sex orientation or have had surgery that has rendered them incapable of sexual intercourse.  It also includes those who are intersex – “a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit the typical definitions of female or male.”  Intersex people, just like Jesus said, are “born that way.”

Eunuchs Excluded

The interesting thing is that in Jesus’ day all of these people were excluded from temple worship, according to the Law of Moses. Consider Deuteronomy 23:1, “No eunuch is to enter the congregation of God.” The next verse bans illegitimate children from “the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord.”  These precious people were excluded.

But then comes a wonderful promise of a time when things would change.  Isaiah prophesies this in 56:3-5, “Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord say,  ‘The Lord will never let me be part of his people.’  And don’t let the eunuchs say, ‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’  For this is what the Lord says:  I will bless those eunuchs who keep my Sabbath days holy and who choose to do what pleases me and commit their lives to me.  I will give them—within the walls of my house—a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give.  For the name I give them is an everlasting one.  It will never disappear!”

In the New Testament we see the fulfillment of this prophecy in the story of the conversion of Eunuch who was an Ethiopian court official.  He’d been to Jerusalem to worship God but of course he would have been disappointed by not being admitted to the Temple.  The apostle Philip was led by the Holy Spirit away from a revival in Samaria to the Gaza desert in order to bring salvation to this one man – the Ethiopian Eunuch.  Read the story in Acts 8:27-39.  It’s so inspiring.

Sadly, the modern church is still guilty of excluding those who are “different.”  Those who are single or who don’t fit the heterosexual stereotype are often made to feel second-class, unwanted and unwelcome.  Not only does this rob these precious people of the genuine Christian community they long for, it also robs the church of the gifts, compassion and energy these people can bring to the community of faith.

A Wonderful Example

A dear friend of ours, Ps Lynette Tobin, is a wonderful example of real Christianity in the work she’s been doing amongst the Eunuchs in India for several years.  In Western countries they are referred to as Transgender.  I’ll conclude this blog with a description of this work from Lynette:

“We met the Eunuchs 5 years ago through an amazing woman who was teaching them about the love of God. The leader of the Eunuchs in that group was Phoebe, who has since died of cancer.  She was such an inspiration.

Phoebe was born as a Eunuch and the day he was born the Eunuchs seemed to know, and came and took him off his family and brought him up in their community.  Many are born like that – man and woman – and they are castrated with a rock.  Families throw eunuch children out usually around 13 or 14 because they are different, and they are then castrated. Others choose to be castrated themselves just like the scriptures say.

The Eunuchs in India are the lowest of the low and, up until last year, they were not registered as a citizen of India so then could not get work or health cover. They live by begging and live in the most humble places and have nothing much at all. Phoebe died because she could not get health treatment. Praise God they are now recognised as human beings. Last year the law was passed in India that they could be registered and recognised.  Eunuchs are quite feared and hated in India but it is changing. Many are coming to the Lord because of God’s amazing grace seeking them out, and there are many Eunuchs who are spreading the Word of God.

Phoebe was recognised as a pastor and she brought many to the Lord.  They look quite manly but have hearts of gold, and these ones loved the Lord with all their hearts.

Phoebe was in a Hindu Temple giving alms to the Hindu gods when Jesus came to her in a vision and told her He had a future for her and that she was precious in His sight (She knew nothing of Jesus). She gave her heart to Jesus and started winning many other Eunuchs to the Lord.  What an honour to meet these amazing human beings.  Love Lynette.”

And so, if Jesus is seeking eunuchs out today, revealing his love to them and drawing them into relationship with God, what is our excuse to exclude such people from our churches?  Remember God’s Word, “I will give them—within the walls of my house—a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give.  For the name I give them is an everlasting one.  It will never disappear!”

On many occasions during Jesus’ ministry years the religious leaders asked him questions to test, trap and trip Him up.  They failed every time of course!  One such instance was written down by Jesus’ disciple Matthew (Matt 19:1-15 NIV) when they asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

This question is basically asking Jesus which one of the two rabbinical schools of the day He personally agreed with: The school of Shammai taught divorce was only allowed if one’s spouse was unfaithful, and the school of Hillel inferred a man could divorce his wife if she burnt the toast or as another Rabbi added, “if you find someone more attractive.”  Even though people publicly supported the Shammai school of thought, the Hillel school was closer to what was general practice in society – much as it is today!

Jesus answered by appealing to God’s original purpose in marriage:

“At the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?  So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate” (Matt 19:4-6 NIV).

The religious leaders responded by quoting Scripture back at Jesus:

“Why then … did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” (Matt 19:7 NIV)

They were quoting from Deuteronomy 24:1-4, “If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled …” (NIV).

We read this sort of thing in the Bible today and are horrified by the implications, but three thousand plus years ago women were considered little more than goods and chattels.  Society was extremely patriarchal (as it still is in some countries and cultures today).  This poor woman, written about in Deuteronomy 24, is simply dismissed by her husband with a certificate of divorce and expelled from the family home.  If she has no other family to live with, she’d be homeless.  There were no social security benefits and many of these women would be forced into prostitution or begging in order to survive.  If she got lucky and another man took her for his wife then she’d be looked after, but if “her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled …” – that could only have been written by a bloke!

It’s this patriarchal boys club that Jesus challenges head-on in Matthew 19:8, ‘Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”’

Notice how Jesus’ statements are directed at the men and are aimed at protecting the rights of women.  When Moses wrote Deuteronomy he was writing in context of his culture, but Jesus contests that culture and in so doing he advances and protects the rights of women.

Author Ken Wilson writes about Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 19 this way: “It’s God’s original intention, in general, for people who marry to stay married for life. But that doesn’t mean that people who are trapped in deeply harmful marriages must either remain married, or remain single after divorce. I’ve determined, by my pastoral practice, that it is legitimate to regard the text as descriptive, as generally normative, not prescriptive – that is, not prescribing what must happen in every case.”

It should also be noted that Jesus is probably using hyperbole here; that is, exaggerating a point in order to get across a powerful truth.  In this case, the truth is that neither marriage nor divorce should ever be entered into lightly or unadvisedly, but prayerfully and with the counsel of wise people.

That being said, since the Second World War the divorce rate has increased dramatically.  The church has wrestled with the issues of separation, divorce, single-again and remarriage for decades – and has not always dealt with them well.  Many people have been hurt and excluded by the church when it has upheld a wrong understanding of Scripture, grace, forgiveness and second chances.  I’m glad that, by and large, we have reconciled these issues and more importantly, we no longer exclude those who for whatever reason, find themselves separated, divorced and/or remarried.  As for Bayside Church, if this describes you I want you to know that you are more than welcome in our community.  Jesus loves and accepts you and so do we.

For more on this subject read my blog “Divorce and Remarriage.”

For more on this topic check out I recently spoke at Bayside Church, “Excluded From God’s Kingdom.”

It’s a question I get asked a lot and I’m always happy to answer it – “So Rob, what books do you read?”  I know it’s a cliché but I genuinely do believe that “leaders are readers” and so, I make it a habit to read widely and regularly.  I also enjoy sharing my good reads with others.

Last week I visited one of our Bayside Church connect groups for a Q&A evening.  I occasionally get invited to a connect group and always try to find the time to go along. One of questions was, “What are your top five books you have read and would recommend to others (aside from the Bible)?”  Rather than give the top five books though, I decided to share my “Top 5 Genres” and endorse some books in each one.  So here they are for you, my blog readers.  I hope you’ll find some wisdom and enjoyment in reading some of these recommendations.  Please note that I’ve not listed these genres in any particular order of importance.

  1. Novels

Due to my Christian faith and pastoral/teaching ministry, I tend to spend a lot of time in Bible study and reading books about the Bible so, for me, reading fiction is about getting my head into a completely different space.  I love getting lost in a good novel and particularly enjoy history and thrillers.  My favourite authors are Conn Iggulden, Ken Follett and John Grisham.  I love history and so Conn Iggulden is always a good read, as he weaves history together with believable fiction.  Check out the Emperor and Conqueror series about Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan.  His latest series is “The War of the Roses” and I’ve just downloaded those four books on Kindle.  Anything by Ken Follett is amazing but especially, “Pillars of the Earth” and “World Without End”. And all of John Grisham’s except for “A Painted House” which is one of those books that you keep reading expecting something to happen and then it ends!

  1. Spiritual Formation

By this I’m referring to “the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit and the various methods He uses to bring about spiritual growth in our lives”.

In our fast-paced world, it’s so important for Christians to nurture their soul and their relationship with Jesus.  I’ve found authors like Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, C.S. Lewis, Richard Rohr, Tim Keller and Philip Yancey to be so valuable in my own spiritual formation.  Their diligent study, deep relationship with Jesus and well-thought-through reflections on the realities of life, have greatly helped me; especially in the tough times where answers to questions can be in short supply.

  1. Biblical Culture & History

I love reading the Bible devotionally but I also like to study it in depth in order to find out the intended message to the original readers or hearers.  You simply can’t take a two to three thousand year old book that was written by different authors in three languages and various cultures, and expect to come up with a full understanding of the original intention of those authors, without some knowledge of the culture and history of Bible times.  A great help with this has been “The Bible Background Commentaries” in which the authors give the historical and cultural background of every verse in the Bible.  Craig S. Keener has written many helpful books on this subject, as has Kenneth E. Bailey and Thomas Cahill.  I’m currently reading Cahill’s, “The Gifts of the Jews”. Check out, “Misreading Scripture Through Western Eyes” by Brandon O’Brien and Randolph Richards and “The Bible Jesus Read” by Philip Yancey.  Rabbi Abraham Heschel is also a fascinating author.

  1. Personal Interest

I love reading books, magazines and articles on subjects I’m personally interested in as well as on hobbies – anything on fitness, history, movies, gardening, politics and international affairs – and books on puns of course 🙂

  1. Going deeper

Finally, I love to read books that help me go deeper in my faith, leadership and understanding of the Bible.  I’ve always found John Maxwell good on leadership.  The Counterpoints series (Zondervan Publishing) has over 30 titles by dozens of contributing authors from various theological backgrounds.  I’ve read about ten of these so far and they’ve given me a deeper understanding of theology, as well as a greater appreciation of Christians who hold different views on various subjects and why.

Well, that’s the answer to the question, “So Rob, what books do you read?”  I hope it’s helpful and that more than anything you enjoy reading and growing in every area of your life.